Jerusalem in the Time of King Solomon – the Wisest of All Men

King David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, but it was his son Solomon who, over a seven-year period, built the Temple on Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount). Construction of the Temple, along with the compound of palaces to its south in the area of the Ophel, created a new kind of acropolis in Jerusalem and diverted the traditional urban focus northward.

Although it was of modest size compared to other buildings in the compound, the Temple was engraved in the Jewish consciousness, and thereafter in the cultures of both Christianity and Islam, as a historical, religious and spiritual symbol of the Jewish people and its grandeur long after the period of its existence.

In the picture: This film clip reconstructs the appearance of the Temple and its surroundings according to Dr. Eyal Meiron, from a 3D film in the City of David. The sacrificial altar can be seen in front of the Temple, as well as the copper laver with the water for purification, the basins to the right and the left of the Temple building, and the two columns – named Boaz and Yachin – flanking the doorway to the Ulam or entrance hall.